Boating endurance event raises awareness about Florida water issues, draws thousands of fans.
The 7th Annual Florida Skiff Challenge is set to kick off at the Flora-Bama Ole River Grill in Pensacola on the morning of Thursday, April 7, 2022.
skiff challenge team
This four-day test of mental and physical endurance began as a battle for bragging rights between boat manufacturers, but has evolved into an annual awareness event to spotlight Florida’s water issues and the connectivity between clean water and a healthy economy.
This year, six teams will put their 18-foot skiffs to the ultimate test, circumnavigating the 1,300-mile Florida peninsula by water from state line to state line. Each five-man team includes two skiff operators and three land-based support crew. All teams are equipped with extensive safety gear and navigation aids and have pre-plotted their own pit stops for fuel, food, repairs, and rest. Boats may be powered by up to a 70-horsepower outboard motor and can carry a maximum of 22 gallons of fuel at a time.
Teams establish their own routes and pit stops around the state. All teams will stop at the locations below. Arrival times vary.
April 7 – Challenge start at Flora-Bama Ole River Grill in Pensacola
April 8 – Mandatory media stop at Key Largo Marriott Beach Resort in Key Largo
April 9 – Challenge finish at Fernandina Harbor Marina in Fernandina Beach
3 ways to join the action
The event reaches over 7 million people through social media and digital channels. Throughout the event, viewers are educated about impacted water bodies around the state and can expect to learn about topics such as Everglades restoration, nutrient pollution, habitat degradation, and conservation organizations working to advance solutions.
Join the exclusive Facebook group – Teams, fans, and field reporters post live content to the exclusive Skiff Challenge Facebook group, including behind-the-scenes, pit stop interviews, water quality education, and unfiltered commentary. Fans can also follow along on the @FloridaSkiffChallenge Instagram.
Donate – Fans can help their favorite team earn incentives by donating to support the mission of Captains For Clean Water.
Press access to teams for interviews and photos are available through Captains For Clean Water.
Senate Bill 2508 passes full legislature vote—final version is a far cry from its original. Yesterday, SB 2508 passed 33-0 in the Senate and 99-8 in the House, but the final version of bill that passed looks a lot different than the one filed five weeks ago.
During last week’s final negotiations, the bill was amended again, further watering down the remaining threats that the bill posed. Even though it passed yesterday’s vote, the major harm to our waters was avoided thanks entirely to YOUR unprecedented efforts.
The bill still doesn’t do anything to help our waters, and there are some concerns remaining, but the threat it presents is significantly reduced because you all fought harder than we’ve ever seen before. What started as an absolute train wreck for Everglades restoration now looks more like a fender bender.
Let’s take a look at how 43,000 petition signatures, thousands of phone calls & emails to the legislature, insane social participation, and two trips to Tallahassee were able to impact the final language in SB 2508…
KILLED:Dilutes funding for the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir by opening a dedicated funding stream to other competing projects. (Line item removed ✓) KILLED:Subjects LOSOM and all other future Lake Okeechobee regulation schedules to the CERP savings clause. This would reduce beneficial environmental flows to the Everglades and the Caloosahatchee during the dry season, forcing higher lake levels at the start of the wet season and creating less capacity to take on summer rains. The result would be more toxic discharges and more nutrients to fuel red tide blooms. (Line item removed ✓) KILLED: Ties over $300 Million of Everglades restoration funding to the passage of the bill, making it challenging for the Governor to veto. (Line item removed ✓) KILLED*: Requires SFWMD reports be sent to the Legislature providing opportunities for them to be legally challenged. (*Still requires reports to be sent, however, the final legislation specifies the reports are not challengeable.) WEAKENED:Takes authority away from SFWMD to change rules on how Lake O is managed at lower levels. (Final version of SB 2508 removed the portion turning existing rules into state law. However, it still creates an opportunity for the Legislature to block SFWMD rule changes, making them very difficult to change and ultimately benefiting the status quo.)
WEAKENED:Takes authority away from SFWMD to change rules on how Lake O is managed at lower levels. (Final version of SB 2508 removed the portion turning existing rules into state law. However, it still creates an opportunity for the Legislature to block SFWMD rule changes, making them very difficult to change and ultimately benefiting the status quo.)
Thank you for your relentless pushback against this bad bill—without it, a water-quality catastrophe was inevitable.
The Sheepy is a annual fly fishing tournament to catch sheepshead, aka “Cajun Permit” held in Hopedale, LA benefiting the Gulf Coast Waterman. The GCW is a non-profit designed to assist in the education of Sportsmen about wildlife and wetland conservation in Louisiana.
The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) is a celebration of the great outdoors through fine art, live entertainment and special events. It’s where artists, craftsmen, collectors and sporting enthusiasts come together to enjoy the outdoor lifestyle and connect through a shared passion for wildlife.
Come by the Orvis booth in the Brittlebank Park location and check out the carbon fiber Hell’s Bay Boatworks Orvis Edition.
Dark Skies loom over the Everglades Restoration project. Follow this link to read the Press Release from Captains for Clean Water and how Senate Bill 2508 includes many harmful provisions that spell bad news for Florida waters and what we need to do the help.
Since 1989, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has maintained a singleness of purpose that has guided the organization to become the most respected and trusted sportsmen’s organization in the political arena. CSF’s mission is to work with Congress, governors, and state legislatures to protect and advance hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping. Read the letter below sent to the President.
December 23, 2021 President Joe Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Biden,
On behalf of the undersigned members of the sportfishing, boating, and greater outdoor industry, we write to you in support of recent bi-partisan congressional letters requesting that your administration allocate at least $1.5 billion towards turnkey Everglades restoration projects (i.e., the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration program) from funding made available to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
Over four million of the nation’s 55 million anglers reside in or frequent Florida as do almost one million registered boat owners, with many of these focusing on the iconic fishing and boating opportunities in the southern part of the state where ongoing water quality impacts have highlighted the need to expedite Everglades restoration activities. In Florida, the Fishing Capital of the World, the sportfishing industry is a $13.8 billion economic engine supporting almost 120,000 jobs, making clean waters and abundant fisheries of paramount importance to us not only in the state, but nationally. Florida’s $33 billion outdoor recreation economy, driven by fishing, boating, hunting, and other outdoor pursuits, has a robust impact on both jobs and GDP.
With the passage of the IIJA legislation, Congress has provided the USACE with historic funding to improve critical infrastructure and invest in measures to protect against the immediate and future impacts of climate change. Not only does restoring America’s Everglades provide an unmatched opportunity to accomplish both goals, but it also will be a banner example of USACE’s (and America’s) ability to restore the environment on a massive scale and serve as a legacy defining investment for your administration. A generational investment now will undoubtedly be recognized as a galvanizing moment that ensured the future of a national and global treasure.
Passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is a model for shared investment and boasts a 50-50 cost shared program between Washington and Florida. America’s Everglades doesn’t just impact Florida. Beyond the climate and economic benefits to the country, best practices from Everglades restoration can be harnessed for future ecosystem restoration projects and the completion of Everglades restoration will enhance the prominence and funding potential for needed restoration investment across the country.
America’s Everglades has significant momentum, a well-earned track record, and a rewarding future. Everglades restoration is a multi-purpose project with multi-benefit impacts, including restoring critical ecosystems, increasing carbon sequestration capacity, recharging a critical aquifer, providing resilience against storms and salt water intrusion, creating tens of thousands of jobs, and protecting communities and economies that are exceptionally vulnerable to climate change. The Everglades provides drinking water to 9 million Floridians and is home to 78 threatened or endangered species. The Everglades encompasses the tribal lands of two Native American Tribes, includes 14 national wildlife refuges, four national parks (including Everglades National Park – a World Heritage Site), an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance.
We also support the bipartisan congressional requests that your FY23 budget fund Everglades restoration at $725 million to keep on schedule to complete restoration efforts this decade, as originally envisioned when CERP was passed, and to realize an estimated $2 billion in savings off the overall price tag. As noted in those letters, we believe that supplemental funding from IIJA should be in addition to the federal obligations reflected in the Integrated Delivery Schedule, which should be fulfilled by regular budget requests to Congress and appropriations. Given the dire status of the Everglades ecosystem and the multitude of benefits of restoration, all of this funding is critically needed. USACE has confirmed the ability to carry out $5 billion worth of projects over the next five years. These investments would accelerate the Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir, a key component that will create synergies across the complex system of Everglades restoration projects as it sends clean water south and reduces damaging discharges to the east and west coasts.
Thank you for your continued support and we urge you to ensure generational funding from bipartisan infrastructure legislation is used for a deserving and historically bipartisan cause – restoring America’s Everglades.
Sincerely,
Glenn Hughes President American Sportfishing Association Casey Shedd Chief Executive Officer AFTCO – American Fishing Tackle Company Al Perkinson Chief Executive Officer Bajio Sunglasses Chris Edmonston President BoatU.S. Foundation Chris Edmonston Vice President, Government Affairs Boat Owners Association of The United States Jim McDuffie President and CEO Bonefish and Tarpon Trust Aine Denari President Brunswick Boat Group Daniel Andrews Co-Founder & Executive Director Captains For Clean Water Jeff Angers President Center for Sportfishing Policy Pat Murray President Coastal Conservation Association Brian Gorski Executive Director Coastal Conservation Association Florida Jeff Crane President and CEO Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation Mark Nichols Chief Executive Officer DOA Lures Mike Dixon Vice President Engel Coolers Eric Eikenberg Chief Executive Officer The Everglades Foundation Far Bank Enterprises Fly Water Travel Redington RIO Products Sage Guy Harvey Chairman Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation Chris Peterson President Hell’s Bay Boat Works Jason Schratwieser President International Gamefish Association Matt Gruhn President Marine Retailers Association of the Americas Charlie Johnson Director of Marketing Maverick Boat Company David Anderson Partner Natural Resource Results Frank Hugelmeyer President National Marine Manufacturers Association Collin O’Mara President & CEO National Wildlife Federation Simon Perkins President The Orvis Company Dave Bulthuis President Pure Fishing, Inc. Brad Befus President Scientific Anglers Chuck Yates Vice President SeaDek Marine Products David Pfeiffer President Shimano Casey Sheahan Chief Executive Officer Simms Fishing Whit Fosburgh President and CEO Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Ben Speciale President Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit Matthew J. Reintjes Chief Executive Officer YETI Holdings, Inc
The Waterman Fly Fishing Tournament Feb 26th & 27th fly fishing-only, catch & release redfish tournament benefiting Tampa Bay Water Keepers. To find out more information and to register for the tournament follow the link below. www.tampabaywaterkeeper.org
Expo • FREE Fly Casting Lessons on land and the river • Presentations from guides, outfitters and experts from around the world • Kids events: casting pond, archery and airguns • Booths guides, shops, artists, gear manufacturers • On water watercraft demos
All Release – Redfish, Snook, Bonefish Feb 4th -5th, 2022 Angler House Marina, Islamorada
The FKFGA is also one of the main fundraising organizations for the Guides Trust Foundation (GTF). The GTF mission is to assist guides or persons related to the local fishing industry in times of need. Our biggest fundraiser is the annual Swamp Guides Ball. To sign up follow the link below.